A man named Malone gets fired from his factory job at Peerless Nail and Wire during the First Red Scare. He explains to a job interviewer that he has never been a communist. He tells the story of why he got fired after working at the factory for fourteen years. He says a coworker named Stanislowski got him fired. Throughout Malone's time working in the hardware factory, various machines are improved, causing the company to let go of many workers. The supervisors often make fun of Stanislowski's Russian-sounding name and jokingly called him a "Russian Red," even though Stanislowski is Polish and says he hates Russians. Malone sees Stanislowski at every Sunday's Mass and knows that Stanislowski can't be both communist and Catholic.   Pete Stanislowski came to the U.S. when he was a child. Growing up, he enjoyed reading in his free time during his labor-heavy life. Malone invites Stanislowski to eat dinner at his house after observing how lonely he is. At the dinner, Stanislowski criticizes the factory system and discusses how men are losing jobs with the improvement of machines. He questions if the world is run for nails instead of men. The long-awaited machines are finally brought in, and the factory men express worry about who will be let go. Stanislowski argues about the need to "stop the march of progress" until the issue of unemployment can be addressed. Malone sarcastically asks Stanislowski if he would destroy the machines for that effort, and Stanislowski comments that it would help keep more people working and feeding their families. The next morning, Malone arrives and sees the machine pieces all over the ground. Armed company guards force factory men to line up against the walls, and the supervisors interrogate them. Malone sees Stanislowski's shot-up body on the ground, holding a sledgehammer. Lithgoe, one of the supervisors, speaks with Malone at his office. He asks Malone if Stanislowski was a communist. Malone responds that he never confirmed it. He pulls out a pamphlet written by a Pope that Stanislowski gave him and shows it to Lithgoe. Lithgoe, skeptical and exasperated, dismisses Malone but warns that they're not done yet.   In the newspaper, the local district attorney argues that Stanislowski could have simply been carrying the sledgehammer into work with him. Lithgoe visits Father Malik in the Polish Church of the town to inquire about Stanislowski but is forcefully thrown out. The following morning, Lithgoe tells Malone he was right about Stanislowski not being a communist. He exclaims that Stanislowski is believed to be insane because of the sabotage he committed. He requests Malone to testify before the grand jury the following week to speak about Stanislowski's insanity. He presses Malone for any signs of Stanislowski's insanity. When Malone denies knowing anything other than what he told him, Lithgoe warns him that the factory doesn’t want workers who agree with insane ideas like Stanislowski's. He advises Malone to tell him the truth within a week.   Malone concludes the story to the interviewer by saying that he tried to think of crazy things Stanislowski said but couldn’t. He argues that Lithgoe is probably the genuinely crazy one. He reveals that the company got some men to testify and say that Stanislowski tried to convince them to break the machines and kill the bosses and that Stanislowski used to talk to himself in the locker room. Malone reiterates that Stanislowski wasn't crazy. He repeats that he doesn’t want to break any machines, just find work. He agrees to start his new job in two days.